Curried Meatloaf

If you are feeling like something really different...try this. Luckily my husband is really good about trying new things and likes everything. We usually don't even like meatloaf but this is kind of unique. It also called for 1/3 cup finely chopped peanuts but I didn't think that sounded good (meat+ peanuts...?) You could try it and let me know how it is. We thought it had a good flavor.

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped, peeled apple
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup ketchup
1 egg
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In a large mixing bowl, mix together ground beef, oats, onion, apple, raisins, peanuts, ketchup, egg, curry powder, cinnamon, and salt. Shape to form six 4x2 inch loaves. Place in a large shallow pan.
3.Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until done.

Italian Sausage and Bowties

I found this recipe here (thanks Chalece:) I don't usually do white pasta, but everyonce in awhile, it's a special "treat" at our house! I have to say, this was a real crowd pleaser... Feel free to alter as needed:)

4 cups dried large bow ties (8 ounces)


12 ounces spicy Italian sausage links (next time I will cut ours into smaller bites b/c Ike LOVED to pull them out and we ended up a with some leftovers and no sausage!)

2 medium red sweet peppers, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup vegetable or beef broth

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 snipped fresh Italian Parsley
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; Keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, cut the sausage into 1-inch pieces. In a large skillet cook sausage and sweet pepper over medium-high heat until sausage is brown; drain.
3. Add the broth and black pepper to skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour over pasta; add parsley. Stir gently to coat.

Thai Noodles We Like

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 T. balsalmic vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 cloves garlic pressed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
1 T. honey
1 T. ginger
dash crushed chili peppers
1/4 cup hot water
1 lb. angel hair pasta
lime juice
2 scallions, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 can water chesnuts, chopped
3/4 lb. cooked chicken, cubed
3 eggs, scrambled
1. Whisk first 10 ingredients
2.Add pasta, scallions, zucchini, chicken and eggs. Toss and serve!

* Note: everytime we make this I add different ingredients, so feel free to add to or take away, as you see fit. When we made it last week, I used chopped red peppers and broccoli too.

Chilies Rellenos Bake

8 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 drops red pepper sauce

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 ounces)

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies, undrained

salsa for garnish

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease rectangular baking dish, 9 x 13, with shortening.

2. Beat eggs, sour cream, salt and pepper sauce in large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in cheeses and chilies. Pour into baking dish.

3. Bake uncovered about 45 minutes or until golden brown and set in center. Serve with salsa of choice.

Hot Crab Cheese Hero

I found the idea for this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine several years ago, and seriously adapted it over the years... It is a favorite of ours...

8 oz. crab meat (or imitation- I'm not picky) coarsely chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 loaf French bread (we make whole wheat)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
garlic salt
1/2 lb. Swiss cheese, sliced

Mix first six ingredients. Slice french bread into 1/2 inch slices. Butter bread and sprinkle sparingly with garlic salt. Place slices on a baking sheet and spread crab mixture over the bread slices.  Cover crab mixture with swiss cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and edges of bread start to darken (less than 5 minutes). Enjoy as an appetizer or a lighter main dish.

Grandma Pieper's Clam Chowder

This is AMAZING! Love it. And it should go nicely with the breadsticks in the previous post. Grandma told me that she got this recipe from a restaurant where Grandpa would always order it and so they asked for the recipe.

2 cans clams, drain and save liquid

3 to 4 cups diced potatoes

1 cup of diced onion

1 cup of diced celery

Drain liquid from clams. Simmer liquid with vegetables.

White Sauce

3/4 cup butter (melt)

1 tsp. salt

pinch of pepper

3/4 cup flour

1 qt. half and half (I think this is why it is so good :) )

Cook until thick. Add clams to vegetables, then add white sauce.

Sausage Dip

This is a favorite of ours. Very, very tasty.

1 lb. sausage

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

1 large can of peeled diced green chilies

1 large can of diced tomatoes

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

1 8 oz. carton or one cup sour cream

Cook sausage. Add onion, green pepper. Cook until green peppers are done. Add chilies and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from heat. Add cream cheese and sour cream. Do NOT boil after cream cheese and sour cream have been added.

Can be reheated in the microwave. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks

This is something that I schemed while being creative one day. A little of this, a little of that, and wa-la! And it is a hit with my family. These don't last long. They go great with Italian food, or any hot soup. I have yet to try it with whole wheat, but if I did I would kneed for 10 minutes before rolling out on cookie sheet.

4 cups warm water

6 T. sugar

3 T. yeast

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup potato flakes

4 tsp. salt

3 T. minced garlic

1 cup Parmesan cheese

bread flour or all-purpose flour (bread flour works best)

1 cube butter (no substitutes, well I guess you could, it just wouldn't be as yummy)

Add first seven ingredients to mixing bowl. Add about 3 or 4 cups of the flour and mix until smooth. Let set one minute. Add more flour until it pulls away from sides of bowl and is soft and spongy. Roll out on a heavily buttered cookie sheet to fit. Using a pizza cutter, cut to desired breadstick size. No need to worry if you can't get the edges. They will pull apart easy enough after baked. Bake 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until light golden brown.

Buffet Beef Casserole

1 lb – Beef Steak cut into 1 inch slices
1 Can – Cheese Soup, undiluted
½ Glass - Red Wine
1 Pkg – Onion Soup Mix

Mix all ingredients and place in casserole. Bake for 2 hours in 325-degree oven.

* I got this recipe from my Grandma. It is really good! I left out the red wine and if you don't have 1 lb of meat you may want to use 1/2 of a package of onion soup mix.

Italian Beef and Potato Casserole

This is a new recipe I tried the other day and we all really liked it so I though I'd share. *Note: I usually don't have pasta sauce on hand so I used to small cans of tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and a can of Italian stewed tomatoes instead. Also, I used Monterrey jack cheese instead of Parmesan.

1 lb ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1(27.5) oz jar pasta sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1/4 c water
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 2 lbs.)
1/2 cu grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a nonstick skillet, cook over medium heat until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return to skillet. Add pasta sauce and next 5 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 min.
3. Spread half of beef mix. in a 9x 13 Pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of potato slices over mixture, slightly overlapping slices. Repeat w/ remaining beef mixture and potato slices, ending w/ potato slices. Coat w. cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 min. or until golden. Top w/ cheese; bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.